Blog Post

After a late November snowstorm brought 13 inches of snow and snowmaking temperatures to the area, Steamboat Resort will open for skiing and riding as planned this Wednesday, November 23, with Scholarship Day. The Opening Day tradition in Steamboat features specially priced lift tickets of $20 benefiting the Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club. Over the past 25 years, Scholarship Day has raised nearly $1 million for the club’s Scholarship Fund, which provides financial support for youth participants in club activities.

“Mother Nature waited until the last minute to bring winter to the Yampa Valley, and our teams were ready to jump into action,” said Rob Perlman, president and COO for Steamboat Ski & Resort Corporation. “As soon as cold temperatures hit Thursday, our crews took full advantage of the powerful snowmaking technology we have to supplement the natural snow and build a great foundation to begin the skiing and riding season.”

A storm rolled into Steamboat late last week bringing more than a foot of fresh snow to mid-mountain and the summit along with cold temperatures for snowmaking. Steamboat’s mountain teams took advantage of snowmaking conditions to crank snow guns on various areas and prepare trails for Opening Day. Snowmaking efforts will continue as conditions allow.

Scholarship Day will feature Christie Peak Express lift and four trails — including Sitz, Jess’ Cut-Off, Vogue and Stampede — when the season begins on November 23. Crews will focus on maintaining conditions on open trails as well as looking ahead to open additional terrain.

“With our new RFID technology, we encourage passholders to preload their season pass with a Scholarship Day ticket and bring it on Wednesday for quick access to the lift,” said Perlman. (Season passes, multi-day passes and regular daily tickets are not valid until Thursday, November 24.) To load a Scholarship Day ticket to an existing pass, go to Steamboat.com/scholarship or visit the ticket office in One Steamboat Place. Guests who don’t have a pass can purchase a Scholarship Day ticket on Wednesday at the ticket office. At the end of the day, please return your Scholarship Day card to the ticket office or a Steamboat Ambassador.

The first 100 skiers and riders to load Christie Peak Express will receive a free T-shirt celebrating the start of the season. For Scholarship Day and opening weekend, Gondola Joes and the Bear River Bar & Grill will be open and serving up breakfast, lunch, drinks and après in the base area. Steamboat Ski & Sport rental and retail locations will be open, and the SnowSports School will offer a full lineup of lessons and privates on Opening Day. The ticket office will be open daily, and parking will be available in Meadows and Knoll lots for free as well as the Gondola Square Parking Structure and Ski Time square for a fee.

“With early season conditions, skiers and riders are reminded to respect all closures and safety signs on the mountain,” said John Kohnke, patrol director. “We’re also highly discouraging uphill access at this time to maintain conditions for building up our base.”